Ending the Adversarial Battle Lines
by Offcentercompass
Summary: Pre SwanQueen, light hearted story. Hopeful emotional journey with a drunken incident and the usual anger you expect from Regina. Based in Season 1


Meant to be a shorter drabble but it bloomed into something else. One-shot, season 1, pre SwanQueen.

Enjoy.

* * *

Emma was upset with life in general, it had been hard growing up in foster care but she had always told herself that once she was an adult and in control, things would be better. It turns out that they really, really, weren't. Instead problems became more serious, more real and she hated the state of her life at this precise moment.

She had stood by helpless as Graham had died, she had fought hard to replace him as Sheriff earning the hatred of the Mayor (her boss no less), had been without a car that had nearly bankrupted her to be repaired and found being a parent to her son was incredibly demanding. He ran around and had such an active imagination that she found watching over him taxing to say the least. And his other mother had declared an unsubtle war on her, just for staying in town to be near him.

But she loved her son, it was instinctive and she thought he realised that. So she had been surprised by his behaviour when she had snapped at him when he continued to bad-mouth his brunette mother. Emma had foolishly thought he would accept she was an adult who knew what she was talking about, but instead he had become childish, pouting and sulking and asking to go back to his house.

Because for all of Regina's faults, and being her employee Emma knew the woman had many, Regina loved the boy. Emma had just tried to explain that to him, to show the boy how lucky he was to have a large house and garden to play in. To have the comics he loved to read all to himself. To be feed and clothed properly and to not have to go without. To see that the woman might not have given birth to him, but she had given him everything he could possibly need or want, including love.

And after trying to be friendly towards the woman and co-parent with her, Emma knew there were many, many more problems with Regina Mills, but failing to love Henry wasn't one of them. Emma could see the woman had been devoted to her son, had raised him with care and compassion. Emma knew the snippy brunette loved Henry and it had resulted in an argument where he was less than pleasant towards his birth mother and when you added in that Regina continued to be a bitch every hour of every day Emma felt at her breaking point. She was certain adulthood wasn't meant to be this hard.

She honestly wasn't sure she could stick this town, it was weird and nothing seemed to fit. She could put her finger on what was wrong, except that it was all jagged edges waiting to tear into her and she couldn't feel comfortable, even now she had a safe place to live and a regular job. She wanted some softness, but that seemed in short supply in Storybrooke.

She thought back to the hoops she had jumped through since being here, the tasks she had dealt with. There had been those 2 kids she had rehomed, she had saved her son from a mine collapse, and saved his other mother from a fire. She had fought slander from the local paper, had had to find a coma victim who had woken with amnesia and the hardest thing to date had been burying her boss after he had come onto her and then dropped down dead.

Now she had to deal with a love sick room-mate and an irate Mayor and a sullen son who felt had let him down. For a small town, Storybrooke certainly had a lot going on and it all made her insides squirm. Something didn't sit right with her, but she was filled with self-doubt and uncertainty because of her own upbringing. She didn't know if the ominous feeling was just her own projection, or whether there really was something wrong inside this quaint little town. Henry's insistent mutterings about Evil Queens and Princess didn't help settle her.

She admitted to herself, the thought to leave was strong. To give up and turn her back on it all, even her son, was tempting to her. She was feed up fighting with Regina and after the things her son had said she was certain he would get over his birth mother's brief stint in his life. It would be so much easier to leave, but that feeling niggled away inside of her and made her stay. Something here was important, she felt it deep down, she just had to discover what.

She was already feeling unsettled and when she had dropped Henry home a little late his brunette mother had torn a strip off of her, again. Emma didn't have the strength to smile or to find a witty come-back, she just took the angry words like she had taken them from her son earlier in the day. It had then got worse as she had gone home to collapse on the sofa and relax with the TV but Mary-Margaret had wanted a shoulder to cry on because of a fight with David.

The blonde hung her head, she was tired and after she had spoken at length to Mary-Margaret, reassuring the other woman that she was sure it would blow over Emma felt a weight she was unused to. She wasn't used to having friends or offering advice and she was out of her depth and it left her feeling drained. As she thought back to the barbed comments from Regina earlier and the angry and accusing words from her son only served to add to her bad mood.

She found the TV just didn't cut it and it was still early in the evening so she grabbed her jacket and went to Granny's to try and relax, or at least blow off some steam with drink. As she took a stool up at the bar she got Ruby's attention and the leggy waitress brought her the first of many bottles of Bud.

* * *

It was several hours later that Regina looked in on her son, to tell him to put the blasted book away if he was reading or give him an unresisted kiss if he was already asleep.

She hoped for the latter, but suspected the former. But he had been in a strange mood since Emma had dropped him home, quiet and subdued. He hadn't complained about dinner or insulted her once this evening and she had tried to gently pry out of him what was bothering him but he just shrugged and told her, "Nothing, Mom."

She took it as a mild victory, because his behaviour might be repressed, but it wasn't hostile and aggressive. She allowed herself to believe he might still come back to her and be the loving son she remembered as he grew from a baby to a precocious toddler.

She pushed open the door quietly and stepped inside, holding her breath. When she found his bed empty she felt her stomach drop with worry. She immediately felt anger replace it, that damned Swan woman had so much to answer for. Her son had been a good, well behaved boy, and now he was a flight risk. This must be why he had been so quiet earlier, planning his escape throughout dinner.

Regina was so conflicted inside. She obviously knew the truth about the twisted little town and her own personal history. She knew she had been cruel and malicious, causing hurt and pain for no other reason than she wanted everyone else to suffer like she was. Living inside of herself there was a small part that thought Henry was justified in the hurt and worry he was causing, his callous behaviour inflicting deserved pain on her, it was probably some kind of fateful karma.

And she knew he was reacting badly to the news he was adopted and the fact she was getting him therapy for his apparent delusions about the fairy-tale world. This lashing out was to be expected, but it didn't make the hurt it caused her any less. Every time he ran away it cut into her healing heart, causing her to remember the grief of losing Daniel only now it was her son she was seeing slip through her fingers. She took a shuddering breath, forcing back the tears. Henry was just a boy, he didn't understand how his actions were damaging to his Mom.

No, the anger flared, Henry wasn't to blame. Miss Swan was. It was her reckless behaviour that lured him out of his bed to engage in their foolish escapades and the blonde had no excuse for it. This was damaging to Henry, the blonde had crossed a line. He should be set a good example, have a rigid bedtime so his life fell into in a pattern without surprises and upsets, that was what was needed for a child to grow up healthy. Regina knew, she had spent months reading the books, making herself the best version of a parent she could be. He should be asleep and resting, he was a growing child who needed structure and care. His schoolwork would suffer from his tiredness, his attitude became more belligerent when he was short on sleep. This behaviour by Miss Swan of enticing her son out of his bed was wholly irresponsible.

She let the anger simmer for a few minutes and then made her way out of the bedroom. Her heels clicked her displeasure out onto the hardwood floor, as she wondered what insults she should use on the blonde this time. She descended the stairs with her shoulders back and head high. Anger kept her spine straight, the worry about Henry pushed into a small ball in her stomach. She went downstairs to get her tablet and tapped her foot as it took time to power on. She was impatient, swiping viciously until she found and loaded the "find my phone" app. As a precaution she had set this to the annoying blonde woman's device. True, it should have been set to Henry's phone, but this served a dual purpose as they were often together and it allowed the mayor to keep tabs on her annoying adversary too.

She sighed her relief as the location came up, Granny's Diner. At least her son would be warm and it was a local and indoor space. It must be too cold and dark for the park or the docks and Regina was thankful for that. Henry didn't have a coat with him and despite being almost certain he would be safe in the sleepy town, she did have a sliver of reservation. Gold had remembered who he was and it gave her pause. The devious Imp could snatch her boy and use him for blackmail, that would be tame in comparison to most of his previous dark deeds. Or another one of the peasants could start to remember, like Graham had. And they might just become deranged and dangerous. Or if they remembered fully, they could become vengeful against the Queen and take it out on her innocent son.

But everything would be okay, he was in a crowded place with numerous patrons, he might be tired and cranky, or full of sugar from a milkshake or ice cream, but he would be safe until she brought him back to his home.

She wasted no further time wondering and worrying about the peasants or the weakening of the curse, she needed to retrieve her son and put the blonde back in her place. She grabbed her coat and left the house marching quickly down the street towards the Diner.

* * *

David yanked the door open with more force than necessary. Why was his life such a fucking mess? He'd argued with Mary-Margaret because of spending time with Katherine and then he had got home to spend the evening with his wife, who had promptly started a row about his friendship with the pixie haired brunette. _Women_ , he thought, no wonder he worked with animals.

"Whiskey, please." he said as he threw his body into a bar stool, hoping to drown his sorrows. He downed his first glass and indicated a refill before he assessed his surroundings. His eye caught the blonde knocking back her own private party, judging from the 4 empty bottles she had amassed so far. He didn't want to join her though, she was Mary-Margaret's room-mate and he had come here to forget about the women he was torn between.

Emma didn't know whether she should greet David, she knew how things were. Should she be loyal to her room-mate and ignore the man? She did think Mary-Margaret was playing with fire and her association with the married man could only end badly, but she had also decided to keep that opinion to herself. It was clear the two love-birds weren't going to stop their encounter no matter who approved or disapproved, so she would only be wasting her words anyway.

She decided to keep her distance, ducking her head and sucking down more beer.

Only as they each drank more and the hours blurred they gravitated towards each other until they were sat close together, laughing raucously while Ruby watched them closely, deciding that very soon she needed to cut them off. They were drunk and while she recognised they were both hurting, she needed to ensure her Grandmother didn't lose her liquor licence by serving intoxicated patrons. Grumpy was a bad enough liability, she didn't need this pair adding to it.

She also didn't like the way David kept looking at Emma. He was studying her quite intently and then shaking his head until finally the blonde asked him outright.

"What is it? Do I have something on my face?"

"No," he shook his head again but it didn't bring him any clarity, "you just look familiar, I can't put my finger on it."

"Dude, that is the worst chat up line, like ever! Tell me Mary-Margaret didn't fall for it?!"

"I'm not trying to chat you up!" He looked at her horrified, "Don't you think I have enough women problems in my life?" He sighed and dropped his head.

Emma put her hand on his thigh and the pressure made him lift his head and turn into her, "David, listen, I was joking."

He turned to her and put his hand on her arm, "Sorry, I guess I'm just a little sensitive about it. It is rather messed up."

Emma patted his leg, stifling a drunken laugh, "Yeah I can see that."

She did empathise. She wasn't going to come down all judgemental on him, he was drunk and she could tell he actually cared about both women, otherwise he wouldn't be wallowing in the bar like this. He was a sensitive guy, he spent his day tending to sick and abandoned animals. There were a hell of a lot worse men out there. It didn't help that when Emma really quizzed herself, until the decision had been taken from her she had been heading straight into her own love triangle with Graham and the Mayor, so hypocritical much. She just smiled at him, trying to convey comfort.

It was then that everything went very wrong, very quickly. The door slammed open and a whirlwind of brunette strode in, anger painted on her features.

"What the hell is this?" Regina quickly took stock of the situation. Miss Swan was drunk, there was no Henry. Dread filled her. And then she noticed how close David Nolan was sitting, sharing personal space with the blonde woman. She had her hand on his thigh, he had fingertips resting against Emma's forearm. They were grining at each other. She felt sick, but she wasn't sure which horrified her most. The fact that Henry was out in the cold on his own, or that Emma seemed to be forming some kind of romantic relationship with her own father.

And she couldn't let Emma have any kind of sexual relationship with her father. Just the whisper of it through her brain soured her stomach and made her breath catch in her throat. It would be wrong. No matter how much she hated Emma, she couldn't let anything incestuous happen. She might hate Snow, but she would rather push her and Charming back together than allow him to become intimate with his own daughter.

However cruel they thought her, if the curse ever broke and the truth was revealed, she couldn't have that on her conscience. At the very least it would seal Emma's hatred of her, and by extension Henry's. Her heart was black enough, but allowing that relationship, she thought it might finally be the thing that broke her. The knowledge that she possessed, the knowledge the curse hid from everyone else, it came with brutal consequences and heavy responsibility and she shuddered with dread of what might have transpired had she not stumbled across this interaction. She felt a frantic need to stop it.

She allowed her anger to boil over, "You are married to my best friend Mr Nolan, and I find this whole situation rather offensive. Not only are you far too comfortable with Miss Blanchard, you know appear to be sniffing round her room-mate as well."

"Hey!" Emma's own anger surfaced, and she stood, thankfully detaching herself from David in the process and Regina was able to breathe a little easier.

"What Miss Swan, are you denying that this looks rather cosy?"

"Not that it is any of your business, but we were just talking. Why the hell are you even here?" And then Emma's drink fuzzed mind finally asked the important question, "Who's looking after Henry?"

Regina allowed Emma's words to sink in, her denial that this wasn't as it looked. She hoped to god that the blonde was being truthful. But she had shown an interest in Graham, did the toned, athletic type do it for Emma? Charming had a similar physic, that boyish gleam in his eye. Regina decided to keep a closer eye on the pair, just in case. But that wasn't important now, Henry was missing and that eclipsed all of Regina's fears about incestuous relationships.

"I don't know where he is." Regina immediately deflated, "I had hoped he would be here with you. He has run away."

Emma was grabbing her jacket and pulling on the brunette's arm before Regina even registered what was happening.

"Miss Swan!" She squawked as she was pushed out into the street.

"It's cold and dark Regina, we NEED to find him." Emma had sobered somewhat, the fresh air and the fear were taking the edge off her buzz. "Shit. Why would he do this?" She ground out.

"He was very quiet earlier, I assumed he had been planning to meet up with you. But he hasn't."

"Very observant." Emma sarcastically told the brunette.

"What did you say to him earlier Miss Swan? Why was he so subdued?" Regina turned on her, her eyes fierce. The protective mother had found something she could attack and she went for it.

"We argued, I told him he needed to cut you some slack because you clearly love him. He didn't like that."

"You defended me?" The brunette let the surprise fill her voice.

"Yeah, I can see you have given him everything, spoiled him in fact. Because you love him."

Regina just stood there, her attack halted. She believed the blonde, and it made her falter. If Emma could see that, if Emma believed her capable of love, it didn't change anything. Emma had stayed in town, she could still take Henry from her and was still a threat to her curse.

But it also changed everything. Someone had defended her, and not because she had forced them to. Someone saw something good in her, and it was someone she had been nothing but derogatory towards. She felt her heart try and take a stifled beat in her chest, it felt so foreign she at first mistook it for indigestion. Then she realised it was kindness, kindness directed towards her and she retreated in shock, studying the blonde until the woman shuffled her feet and hesitantly said,

"Um Regina? Lost Kid? Remember?"

Regina let out an exasperated sigh. Every time she felt something in her withered heart, the blonde was involved. She loved the boy that the annoying woman had given birth to. She owed her life to the woman, having been pulled from a burning building by her and she had felt gratitude course through her after that. The woman had stolen her lover and that had punched her heart into some kind of stilted life, making her act aggressively and possessively. And now, the woman believed in her. If she had time she might ponder what it all meant, but she didn't, they had to find Henry.

"Which way?" Regina asked the blonde, she was all business again, her emotions hidden behind her mask, "Should we spilt up?"

"No, I think he would head into town rather than away from it at this time of night. It's dark and even if I wanted to be alone or to think I'd head towards the light, it is just safer and makes better sense."

"But he isn't an adult and doesn't think like that!" Regina tried to keep the panic from her voice, but it wavered slightly and Emma looked at her sympathetically. "He is an imaginative child who sees the best in everyone. He wouldn't think about light and safety, he's sensitive and would be thinking that he is hurting."

"Do you think he would have gone towards the woods?" Emma asked, happy to hand control to the older woman who had raised Henry for ten years and knew him better than her.

Again Regina was surprised that Emma didn't fight her over this, that she seemed to trust her judgement when it came to the boy she had raised. "No, he isn't very adventurous, he doesn't like camping or nature that much. He doesn't know the woods very well. He prefers structured play, like the park."

"Then we'll head that way." Emma reached over and squeezed Regina's arm in a friendly gesture, allowing the brunette to smell the alcohol on her breath. If she hadn't been so upset and concerned she might have stopped the blonde woman from helping, but Regina couldn't be proud when Henry's safety was hanging in the balance. As she had done that day at the mine, she allowed Emma to become involved.

As they started walking, they said very little. It left Regina to her thoughts which kept circling back to Emma. She kept opening her mouth to say something and then thought better of it and shut it again. It wouldn't do it put her faith in the blonde or to trust everything the woman said. That only ended up hurting her.

It was as they rounded a corner Emma nudged her and she sucked in a breath. On the opposite sideway was a dejected figure trudging slowly with his head down.

Regina felt her heart leap in her chest as Emma leaned into her and whispered, "Let's take this slow, we don't want to spook him."

They were quiet as they crossed the road and only called his name when they were close enough to grab him should he bolt.

"Henry." Regina used that soft voice that Emma knew she only used for her son. Emma knew well the voice of Mayor Mills, the one in control and who issued orders. This was so different, almost hesitant and the boy snapped his head up.

"Mom." He greeted, and then with eyes slightly widened with surprise, "Emma?"

"Hey Kid." Emma greeted. He looked away and hunched his shoulders higher, almost like he wanted to curl back into himself.

"Are you cold Darling?" Regina already had her coat off and was tucking it round his shoulders. Emma smiled, really, how could Henry not see the love that was so obviously there?

"Aren't you angry at me?" He looked between them, trying to read them and work out why they had teamed up together.

"We were worried." Regina told him.

"Running away isn't a good thing Kid," Emma told him, "But we are just glad we found you and nothing serious happened."

"So you aren't going to punish me?" He looked up hopefully and Regina slipped a different mask on. It was one Emma had seen often, but she now understood why. You had to be a bad guy to be a good parent. It didn't mean what she had initially assumed, that Regina was a bad mother. It was because she cared and because kids were unruly. Having taken care of Henry more often, Emma herself understood and let the brunette discipline their son.

"You shouldn't have run away Henry, you know that." Regina explained to him. "And you will be punished, no X-box for a week."

He swivelled on his feet and looked at Emma imploringly.

"No way Kid. If you come stay with me the no X-box rule stands." Emma wasn't going to be stupid enough to let him play them off against each other. She had been caught doing that before and all it did was cause problems for all three of them involved.

He pouted, but nodded his understanding. Emma wanted to smile, it was a small win, creating an olive branch to hold out to the older woman.

"So will you tell me what you are doing out here?" Regina probed gently.

"I wanted some space." He told her, "I needed to think and the fresh air helped."

Regina wasn't sure that was the truth but she felt Emma touch her arm and acquiesced to letting the blonde speak.

"I upset you didn't I?" Emma bluntly told him, dropping to a crouch in front of him. "You wanted to think about what I'd said."

"Yeah you upset me. You're meant to be on my side - you're The Saviour."

"I think The Saviour should be on the side of right, don't you?" Emma asked, for once giving in to his fairy-tale world.

"Yeah!" Henry said, openly enthusiastic at Emma embracing his fantasy world. Regina was watching with horror as the blonde encouraged Henry, she opened her mouth to interject when Emma's next words shocked her to silence.

"Then I can't stand by and let you tell lies about your Mom, can I?" Emma chastised him. "That wouldn't be right."

"But The Evil Queen!" Henry argued, but Emma shook her head.

"That wasn't what I meant Henry. You told me your Mom doesn't love you, and THAT I know is a lie. She would do anything for you, look at yourself right now. You ran away and instead of being left out in the cold and the dark she came and found you and wrapped you in her coat and is taking you home to a warm house and soft bed."

Henry looked away, he saw the truth in the statement and was too young to deal with the reproachful look Emma was giving him. Regina reached out and gently touched his chin, bringing his eyes up to meet her own. He didn't flinch, just looked crestfallen and sad.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled to her as she engulfed him in her arms. "It's alright My Little Prince." She whispered back into his hair. Placing a kiss there she looked up into Emma's eyes and saw a satisfied smile gracing the pale features.

* * *

As they walked up the path to 108 Mifflin Emma hung back. Regina let Henry in and told him to go to bed and stay there this time. He nodded and scampered off, calling out over his shoulder, "Bye Emma!"

Emma watched this, knowing this wasn't the worst way to end an evening. There had been no insults, no punches had been thrown and Henry had shown his mother the respect Emma felt the woman deserved.

"Miss Swan?" The sultry voice shook her from her musings.

"Yeah?"

"How would you like to come in for a glass of the best apple cider you are ever likely to taste?"

Emma looked up, surprised. She took in the woman stood on the porch. Much like the last time, the air held a nip and the woman wasn't dressed for it. Her silk blouse was tucked into a pencil skirt with a slit up the thigh. Emma looked at the lean legs, the trim waist. It wasn't an outfit made for the cooler weather and Emma forced her eyes up passed the nipples that were reacting to the air. She quickly looked away, those thoughts were wholly inappropriate and she hadn't thought about the older woman like that since the first night they met when she had been rendered speechless by her beauty.

The brunette felt eyes on her, but refused to look up for fear of giving herself away. She had her son safely at home, she was grateful and had been on quite the emotional ride herself. She felt the emotion prick at her eyes as she held her breath waiting for an answer.

"Is this a do-over?" Emma asked, stepping closer onto the porch and licking her lips.

"Yes." Came the whispered response.

"Then I accept." Emma told her and touched her elbow to make her look up. Something was different as they looked at each other, but neither could place what it was. Regina thought it was the stress of the evening confusing her and Emma thought it was the sexual attraction running rampantly through her body, but as they searchingly looked at each other they felt the shift in their relationship. They were clearly no longer enemies.


End file.
